


Alpha, Theta, Epsilon

by TeenageCriminalMastermind



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Humor, it's a crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2018-07-14 14:58:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7176533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeenageCriminalMastermind/pseuds/TeenageCriminalMastermind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Artemis Fowl II receives a letter with no return address, which tells him to go all the way to a camp in New York, just because they say it's where he belongs. The 12 gold coins don't help his curiosity, and neither does the secretive attitude his parents assumed upon seeing the letter. Curiosity usually ends up killing the cat, and its no different for the Fowl scion either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Letter

_Another busy day._

With that thought, Artemis Fowl II stepped out of bed with five hours of sleep in him, bleary-eyed and mildly sleep deprived. The latter was a result of staying up till three a.m. that morning to complete the manuscript of his new thriller. Stumbling into the washroom, he quickly washed up and readied himself for the day ahead. At the breakfast table, a cheerful Angeline Fowl and Myles and Beckett greeted him, his father being in Belgium for another conference. Butler passed him a file of blueprints halfway through the Caesar salad, and Artemis' day began.

* * *

While sifting through the stack of mails he had received, a pristine white envelope with no return address on it caught his eye. It possessed no mailing stamps and did not look like it had undergone the stringent screening process Butler subjected every piece of mail entering the Fowl household.

"Butler." the bodyguard appeared promptly, and took a look at the envelope lying on the table. "I want this checked." Butler exited the room, envelope in hand while Artemis busied himself with more important matters.

"It's harmless. And addressed exclusively to you." The Eurasian's voice made Artemis turn. Butler promptly handed him the letter, and Artemis began to skim through it, eyebrows raising a little as he read through it.

**_To Artemis Fowl II,_ **

**_Since you have received this letter, consider the issue of utmost urgency and importance. This letter concerns your legacy and your parentage in particular._ **

At that the Fowl scion let out a scoff. _As if I wouldn't know my own legacy._

**_As much as you would like to deny the following sentences and refute their claims, it is true - the Greek Gods are real._ **

_And I'm Emperor Nero._

**_If you happen to be a child being raised by a single parent, with no whereabouts of your other parent, and also happen to be afflicted by dyslexia and/or ADHD, do not sideline these issues as effects of a broken family or some common medical condition. Neither is your ability to see things unexplained by science or rationale. Your disorders are a gift, which you will soon realise._ **

Artemis wanted to dismiss the letter as a hoax, but curiosity prompted him to read on.

**_There is a safe-house, a camp, for children like you. It is known by the name of Camp Half-Blood, but do not try to look it up on a directory or Google. You won't find it._ **

_Because it's a prank._

**_However, your friends, who may walk funny, be physically disabled and use crutches, and who would possess a strong affinity for canned vegan food, can help you in this task. If you wish to contact us, do not hesitate to write back to us, or get back to us through these friends. The address is given below -_ **

****_Camp Half-Blood,  
Half-Blood Hill,  
Long Island, NY_

**_We look forward to seeing you whole and unharmed as soon as possible._ **

**_Thanking you,_ **

**_Chiron  
(Activities Director, Camp Half-Blood)_ **

Once finished, Artemis tossed the letter away, Butler handing him another envelope, smaller and heavier. Artemis, curious as ever, opened the envelope. Twelve golden drachmas stared back at him, the owl and olive wreath with the letters 'Alpha, Theta, Epsilon' encased within it gleaming in the light. They looked like pure gold, but he wouldn't be fooled. Taking the envelope, he rushed to the basement, eager to test their authenticity.

* * *

A look of surprise and amusement graced his face as he analysed the reports. Each coin, the size of a Girl Scout cookie, was authentic 22 carat gold. The combined weight of the twelve coins came out to be 120 grams, making Artemis wonder who could be so eager to have him there to send him 3,600 pounds worth of gold in just a letter. He read the note accompanying the coins.

**_We thought we'd pay the cab fare, at least._ **

At that the Fowl boy smiled. "Butler, prepare the Learjet. I want to find out which camp requires 3,600 pounds for taxi fare."

**And it's here! This is the first updated chapter of 'Alpha, Theta, Epsilon', which was previously known as '** **Artemis Fowl And The Demigod Camp'. Don't bother to read the latter - it was stuff I wrote when I didn't know how to write well. I hope you all like this.**

**In all demigodishness,  
**

**Mastermind (teenagecriminalmastermind)**


	2. Welcome To New York

_**Sucktastic.** _

That's what Anastasia's day was going to shape up as, she was sure. After all, how can a day with Drew Tanaka on patrol duty with you go well?

"And then Travis and I kissed! Katie was strawberry red with jealousy, that poor honey. After all, I did kiss her bae-"

"Cut your stupid banter and focus on the woods, Tanaka." Beyond the irritation, the former Cabin 10 counsellor's words registered. "And why in Olympus' name did you kiss Travis Stoll? Don't you fear Katie will end up changing your mattress to a cactus, or destroy your vanity kit?"

"What's a relationship without some drama, hon?" At that Anastasia rolled her eyes. "But what would you nerds know? Except for you sister Annabeth. Damn, she got that honey-cake Jackson. That boy is one gorgeous male." Drew would've continued, but the daughter of Athena beat her to it.

"Any more fangirling over Percy, and Annabeth will know." At that, Drew rolled her eyes and mumbled a whatever, but shut up. Ana prayed to the gods, Nike and her mother in particular, that she wouldn't have any more bad luck today. As Malcolm and Annabeth having left for college, she was made head counsellor for the cabin, and today was patrol day for them. The draw of lots yielded Athena and Aphrodite. With Piper on a quest to retrieve her mother's scarf, she was stuck with Drew Tanaka for a partner.

Apparently the last night's sacrifices were less, because the exact opposite of her prayer happened, with a half-dead, suited young male crashing through a pine tree, a gorgon not far behind. Now she had to battle a gorgon with no help at all, and make sure that guy crossed the barrier. All with Drew Tanaka's screaming as background music.

_Great._

_ **Artemis** _

Artemis had landed at John F Kennedy Airport, checking the reply he'd received again. They retreated to an alleyway, where Artemis took out his stash of drachmas.

"I find it incredibly stupid to be tossing a drachma into the street and muttering an Ancient Greek chant. As a matter of fact, I still find this entire exercise a waste of time." Domovoi Butler couldn't help but agree with his charge, but he remembered the fiasco that had occurred at the Fowl Manor when the letter reached Madame Fowl's hands, and Artemis Fowl Sr. got wind of the situation. It went down like this –

Angeline Fowl had been sifting through her son's wardrobe to make sure he had acceptable teenage clothes to wear for Miriam Marshall's daughter's birthday. _No suits for Arty!_ She had informed Angeline. While looking for a pair of skinny jeans for her son, she found the letter, safely hidden away in a corner of his trouser drawer. The reaction was instantaneous.

* * *

The moment Artemis returned with Myles and Beckett from their school, she hugged the twins and sent them off for a shower while pulling her older son aside for a conversation in Father's personal study.

"Artemis Fowl II, may I know when you received this letter?" The boy raised an eyebrow, only fuelling his mother's pent-up ire. "Don't give me that look, young man! When did you get this letter?"

"How is it important, Mother?" She only stared with an accusatory glare at the wall and rang for her husband, who promptly reached home within ten minutes.

"What is it, dear?" he asked his wife, who looked conflicted between crying and screaming angrily. He had only seen Angeline this angry twice before. Once, when Artemis disappeared for three years in Limbo, and the other time when his father revealed the truth about the Fowl family.

"I thought I and your father had a deal." At that Artemis Fowl Sr. paled a bit, their son staring at the duo in confusion. Artemis Fowl Sr. read the letter, sighing audibly as he finished.

"He will go."

"Timmy!" The man shot his wife a look.

"Angeline, it's time he knows his legacy." He turned to his son. "Artemis, the Greek gods are real. And I'm not insane, telling you this. You've descended from a god. A rather powerful god, to be precise." Artemis, at first, felt like questioning his father's sanity, but ignored the feeling. His father wasn't a mad man.

"Who?"

"You'll find out soon enough. The camp will help you. A very major reason of the power our family holds lies in our ancestry, and we happen to be privileged-"

"Or accursed," his wife interjected hotly. He continued.

"To have the gods visit our family thrice. The first was Zeus, the father of Hugh Fowl, your ancestor. The second was Athena, who visited my great-grandfather, and the last was my father, who sired me. It is in your best interests that you go to Camp Half-Blood. You will be safer there."

"Father-"

"I can assure you it isn't a prank, son. I have been to this camp as a teenager, and I know how it can offer you safety."

"So you're telling me I am supposed to attend a camp for demigods, which do happen to exist in reality." Artemis Fowl Senior nodded. Angeline Fowl looked like she wanted to wring her husband's neck.

"Timmy, he can die. Not everybody makes it to that place. You told me so."

"But he will."

"And what if he doesn't?"

"You know my father wouldn't let it happen, Angeline."

"Your father is a mad man."

"Anyone who looks at his eyes can say that. Either a madman or a genius. Maybe both. Artemis, you leave tomorrow."

And that's how they ended up in an alleyway, with Artemis and his bodyguard staring at the ground which had just swallowed a drachma, smoke curling around the sidewalk.

**And here goes the second chapter. Read and review, guys! All sorts of reviews are appreciated.**


	3. Run Boy Run

" _ **Hello boys! Get in the cab!"**_

The very sight of the taxi made Artemis nauseous. He would never climb into a vehicle that filthy and dilapidated. With its paint peeling off, the trash on the seats visible from three feet away and the smell of what could've been concentrated acid emanating from the cab made him want to puke.

"You've never been our customer, that we're sure of, kiddo. Get in, if you don't want to be eaten by a Minotaur for breakfast!" The lady at the wheel spoke. The other two beside were squabbling, holding what looked suspiciously like a fresh human eye. That's when he took a look at their faces, or more precisely, their eyes.

There were none.

"We'll take a standard cab, thank you very much," Butler led his charge away from the vehicle, who had recognised the mythical characters. That still wouldn't make him take that cab.

"Oh, but you're needed at the camp, Artemis Fowl II! What of the prophecy?" At that Artemis turned.

"What prophecy?"

"He doesn't know!" The lady in the middle cackled. "Like Jackson and Grace, Odysseus and di Angelo, he doesn't know! None of them ever know, do they?" Artemis felt his throat tighten.

"Is there a key detail I'm missing out on? And who are these people you equate me with?"

"You'll know when you get there. Now, now, get in. The Graeae don't wait for anyone." He eyed the cab for a while.

"I suppose there is another way to get to Camp Half-Blood?"

"Of course there is!" The lady at the other end spoke. "You take a normal cab and ask them to leave you at the Delphi strawberry fields at Long Island."

"Thank you very much. We'll do just that." With that, Butler rang up Hertz rentals for a taxi. The Graeae gave Artemis one last look of contemplation.

"I'll gladly avail your services later, but for now, a normal taxi it is for me." They didn't look offended, which made him feel relieved.

"Sure. Reach camp alive, and we'll be seeing you very soon. Goodbye!" The cab disappeared in a plume of smoke, leaving the two waiting for a normal taxi.

They had barely gotten to the fields when an explosion rocked the car.

Artemis extricated himself from the rubble. Thankfully, the cuts were few and benign. Butler offered him a helping hand, and the two stood up from the smoking mass which threatened to explode any minute. The driver was nowhere in sight.

No sooner had they gotten a few metres away from the car, the vehicle exploded, with a roar that couldn't be mechanical sounding behind them. Artemis vaguely registered hissing in the background. Turning around, a nine feet tall woman-no, monster, loomed over them, talons extended and her snake hair hissing. She roared once more, charging at the boy, who would be delicatessen meat had Butler not pulled him away.

"No use running for your life, godling! I will find you anyways!" Artemis broke into a run, heading towards the place he should've disembarked at – the strawberry fields. The trees obscured his view of the place, but he could vaguely see buildings behind them. Another Gorgon joined the previous, charging at them.

A cold feeling seeped up his chest, and he pulled out the black Victorinox his father had given him. _This can save you from getting killed. Just twist it._

Artemis did as told, the object growing into a sword. He hefted the weapon, which felt light and strange in his hands, having never dealt with it before. "How do I use it?" Butler, who was busy firing at the gorgon, took aim once more after reloading his Glock.

"You've done fencing, right? Use those skills!" The boy did as told and calculated the best angle to strike from. However, he did not receive much time as a Gorgon charged at him. Instinctively swinging the weapon and narrowly avoided getting sliced by the Gorgon's talons. He swung again, the strike successfully wounding her.

The moment of glory was short-lived as the monster lost her cool and threw him into the pine looming behind him. Artemis vaguely registered the weapon falling from his hands as he hit the tree, blacking out.

_ **Ana** _

Ana barely had time to react as the gorgon's roar shook the trees around them, the boy's body falling through a tree. He was wearing a suit, unarmed and definitely out. Which meant she was on her own, as most campers were away at school, the rest at practices. And there was no time to call anybody.

"DO something!" Drew looked panicky.

"Of course I will, you idiot." Ana pulled a lead pencil out, clicking the top. A Celestial bronze sword took its place, her readying the weapon as she charged at the monster. "Pull him to safety!" she yelled back at Drew, who was busy taking shelter, nowhere to be seen then. "Oh well," the daughter of Athena bit back a curse as she struck once more. The gorgon roared again, the deafening sound disorienting her a little. As soon as she found her footing, another roar shook the wood, and this wasn't a monster.

This was a man mountain being followed by one.

The second Gorgon, whom Ana registered as Euryale, was following the man, who was busy shooting at it. Finding a fallen sword, she tossed it to the man. "That won't kill her! This will!" He nodded once, then got back to Euryale.

The gorgon facing her was a little worse, and Ana registered the characteristic green snakes as Medusa's.

"Daughter of Athena, how nice to see you." The boy was now in her vice-like grip, and Ana would've to act fast if she had to save him. She replied with a strike to the arm, green blood gushing out – gorgon's blood.

Medusa let out a deafening roar, dropping the boy, and Ana had to make sure she did not look the woman in the eye. Tapping the watch on her hand, the shield sprung to life.

"Not for me, though." The girl swung, successfully lopping an arm off. Medusa charged, and Ana calculated the distance the Gorgon was from her, factoring in the convexity of the shield and subtracting the zero error. It was barely ten feet's distance. She ran to the boy, standing over him as she kept an eye on the shield.

"Surrender, girl. Your blessing doesn't do you any good." Ana wondered when having black hair qualified as a useful blessing. She took another look at her shield and charged, looking away from the monster as she plunged the sword into her, the weapon making a sickly sucking sound as she pulled it out of Medusa's body. Without further ado, she swiped at what should be the Gorgon's head. The absence of any sound after a final roar confirmed it.

She could hear the man mountain charge at Euryale, swords and talons clashing. Taking a look at the boy, she decided she was better off getting him to the infirmary than assisting the man. "Go!" he yelled at her.

Hefting the boy up, she slung his arm across her shoulder and ran for the camp boundaries.


	4. SELL THE PHONETIX SHARES!

Will had been lecturing Nico for the past fifteen minutes about eating more when Anastasia burst into the infirmary, a half-dead demigod being dragged along.

"Gorgon attack. Gotta go. Take care of him." With that she and Nico ran off, leaving him with the boy.

Ana was at the tree when Nico caught up. "Gorgon?"

"Two, initially. Medusa's done with, so one." His eyes widened a little – it wasn't everyday Camp Half Blood was attacked by the gorgons, in plural. By the time they had reached the scene of the fight, it was over.

Butler stood against a tree, breathing heavily. The moment he saw the girl, he took her by the shoulders and shook her a little too hard. "Where is he?"

"Inside – infirmary. Being tended to." At that the bodyguard eased a little, letting go of her shoulders. The girl didn't look like much, but the way she fought suggested otherwise. The boy beside her looked stronger. The girl said some words and they walked past the huge pine, the establishment coming in view.

Marble structures spread around a massive expanse of land, the place would look more in place had it been in Greece, not America. Right now, the only building of importance was the one the girl was leading him to – the infirmary.

* * *

 

_ **Artemis** _

" **SELL THE PHONETIX SHARES!"**

Artemis woke up to a terrible headache, his entire body stinging with pain. He was still in his tattered Armani, but in a hospital bed with a blonde boy standing over him, eyes wide as he took his vitals. His surroundings resembled those of a hospital, and he was covered in bandages. The blonde looked slightly alarmed by his outburst. "Are you all right?"

Artemis seemed to recollect the past events, subsiding into silence.

"Dude, calm down. You're safe but you've got some really nasty injuries. That blow to the head should've broken a Colchis Bull's horns in half." He saw three more people behind the boy, one of them being Butler.

"I'd like to see Butler," he sounded like he'd gargled with battery acid.

"We're there. Your father wants me to go back." The boy was more alert now.

"Did you inform him of this?" He registered the Eurasian's nod.

"He says you'll be safe within the camp's boundaries."

The girl spoke. "He will be. They can't get in here."

"Will my bodyguard be allowed to stay here?"

"He can, considering he's been invited into the camp. But we received word from your father that he should go back. He needs him urgently, and you wouldn't, till you're here."

"Could I have a conversation with him, right now?"

"Sure." The girl pulled out a drachma and a prism, the blonde boy spraying some water before she put the prism in the line of the sunlight.

"O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, messenger of the gods, show me Artemis Fowl Senior." Artemis didn't have much time to dwell on how the girl knew his father's name as the air before him shimmered, and his father's face came into view.

"Artemis-oh, Hades." His father looked horrified, but not shocked. "Butler said monster, not which monster. What was it?"

"Two gorgons. Euryale and Medusa."

"Are you sure?" Beside him, the girl nodded.

"Yes." His father first looked horrified, then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank the gods you're alive. Artemis, I need Butler – he has to go. And you'll be safe at the camp." He turned to the girl. "Can I speak to the camp leader?"

"You're speaking to head counsellor of the Athena cabin right now." The man nodded.

"Very well. I assume you'll take responsibility for acquainting him with camp?" She nodded. Artemis Senior turned back to his son. "Then you are in safe hands. I shall see you soon." The Mist began to dissipate as he spoke, and the parting smile disappeared in a puff of vapour. Artemis sank back into the pillows, exhausted by the revelations he was faced with.

"Now now, all of you, out of the infirmary." The blonde began to herd the others out, Butler shooting him a menacing look. The boy left it at that, busying himself with a glass of what looked like Irish Spring water. "Drink this." Artemis took a sip and almost put the glass down; it looked like iced water, but tasted like his mother's hand-baked brownies, melting in his mouth.

"What is this?" The boy Will, smiled.

"It's nectar. What does it taste like to you?"

"Brownies. And shouldn't nectar appear in the form of liquid gold?"

"Only to the gods. Demigods and mortals see it as a cocktail, or any such cool drink you prefer. It tastes like the things you love most – in your case, brownies. Your mom or dad bakes those?"

"Mother." Will nodded.

"Drink it up, now. You're a wreck. And eat this –"he motioned to the small bowl of pudding, "if you don't, Ana will personally force it down your throat. Not that it would be required."

"I'm taking a safe guess that this is ambrosia."

"Yup. Down with it, now. I'll be back in half an hour to check on you." With that Will left, leaving Artemis to finish his drink. He stretched his arm a little to reach to the table, wincing as he tried to set the glass down.

"I'll take that." It was the same girl he'd seen before. Taking the glass from him, she picked up the bowl and spoon. "Open up."

"I am perfectly capable of feeding myself." She raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, passing the bowl and spoon to him.

"Fine then." Observing him with a barely suppressed smile, Artemis gave the bowl and spoon to her after two spoonful's which hurt his arm every time he moved it.

"Such masochism," she sighed, taking it from him. Little by little, he finished the chocolate brownie flavoured pudding.

"Am I permitted to have more of this?" She touched a hand to his forehead.

"I wouldn't risk it – you're already feverish. I can send some food, if you like. What would you like to eat?"

"Caviar." She let out a short laugh at that. "What's so funny in the request?"

"Nobody usually asks for caviar at camp."

"Well, does the camp have it or not?"

"I never said we didn't. I'll send someone with it." She rose to leave. "Oh, a word of advice – don't move out of bed without someone else's help. You most likely will end up falling face-first." With that she left, and after a few minutes, Artemis, rebellious as he was, tried to get out of bed, only to fall down, face-first. He could imagine her smirking and saying 'told you'.

* * *

 

_ **Ana** _

Heading towards the mess hall, Ana wondered what kind of person would be fond of caviar. She personally despised that dish, having accidentally eaten it at a Presidential Gala her dad had dragged her along to. However, she grabbed a plate, filled with brisket, bread and cheese and headed for the braziers. Sacrificing to the gods, she prayed to her mom to help her through with the holographic watch she was working on.

"Who's the other plate for?" Her younger brother asked, eyeing the empty plate she had picked up now.

"Patient in the hospital wing." He nodded, then went back to his book, chewing on a buttered scone. Silently thanking Camp Jupiter for their gift of magical plates to the camp, the daughter of Athena headed back to the infirmary.

The boy, Artemis, was sitting in a chair overlooking the canoe lake, nursing a bruise on his nose. Shaking her head at his stubbornness, she set his plate down in front of him.

"This is empty." She nodded, chewing on a piece of brisket.

"Wish for what you want. It'll appear." The boy scoffed.

"Do you think I'm an imbecile, who would fall for your pathetic joke? If so, then you are sorely mistaken." His tenacity was further annoying her.

"Do you think I'm joking?" He studied her expression for a while, then closed his eyes and probably wished for what he wanted. Ana scoffed at the boy's childishness and wondered how he could be The Artemis Fowl, the one who stole the Fairy Thief painting from a Swiss vault in Munich.

Sure enough, the dish appeared, and he looked at the plate with a dumbfounded expression before smiling slightly. "No. 1 would be certainly impressed," he muttered, shaking his head before eating. "How does the energy-magic transformation work?"

"This is a question the Hecate kids can answer better. All I know is that there is a constant amount of energy generated by the Mist and a lesser amount absorbed for shielding mythical creatures – the remaining is used to fuel magic. Now, answer my question – who's No. 1?" Fowl's smiled melted off his face faster than the Stolls with Katie chasing them.

"That, is none of your business." His cold tone took her by surprise a little. _So the Fowl heir has secrets. Very well._

"Okay. Changing the topic, you'll need to head to Cabin 11 once you're done healing."

"And why is that?"

"Because you're an undetermined camper – your parent/ancestor hasn't claimed you yet. All undetermined campers go to the Hermes cabin, which is Cabin 11. I'm in Cabin Six, which is the Athena cabin. Has your parent told you anything regarding your ancestry?"

"My paternal grandfather was a god." She considered the information for a while.

"So that rules out all the female goddesses." Studying the boy's face for a while, her gaze came to rest on the most striking feature – his eyes. They were a sapphire blue, halfway between the colour of lightning and the sea, just like the gemstone. She decided to further investigate. "What else did they tell you?"

"My family has been visited by the gods thrice." Her eyes widened a little – a kid whose family has been visited thrice by the gods meant trouble with a capital tau. "Once by Zeus, then Athena, and then my paternal grandfather."

"Have you ever seen your paternal grandfather?" He shook his head. That was normal. However, the number of gods and the ones who had visited him wasn't. She glanced at her watch and almost jumped out of her seat – it was wall-climbing practice, and she was ten minutes late already. "I have to leave – wall-climbing practice." The boy's face paled till a considerable extent.

"Wall climbing?" She was already running out of the infirmary, because any more delay would definitely guarantee her a trip back there.


	5. Danger Seeking Fools' Society

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! Here is the next chapter people! Sorry for the late update and thanks a lot to all the supporters of this fic. Enjoy!

**_ Ana _ **

Ana should be general secretary of the Danger-Seeking Fools Society – the chairman's post belonged to Percy Jackson.

After almost getting burnt to a crisp by the Lava Wall and saved thanks to a helpful naiad who extinguished her half-flaming clothes, she had to butt in in Clarisse's argument with a Hermes camper and make a snarky comment. The result – a split lip, a few bruises and a livid, bruised Clarisse La Rue who swore to pulverise the Athena cabin next capture-the-flag.

"Who did that to you?" Carina Gonzalez asked her.

"Clarisse – technically, it was my fault, as I stood up for that idiot Adam from the Hermes cabin."

"Oh well, let's get you patched up." With Will and Kayla not around, Carina was the next best thing the camp had to a healer after the Apollo kids. Drew Tanaka passed the duo, muttering something about dumb bimbos constantly trying to catch the attention of hot cute guys by acting like they wanted to help, _which would have better applied to her_ , Ana mused.

"Hey Cromwell, what happened – tripped over a bow again and fell into the lava pit?" It was no secret that Ana was a shitty archer, and had been working on that particular skill for quite a while. Truth be told, she felt she was never going to get a bull's eye shot, even with Tyche blessing her with exceptional luck.

"Hey Drew? Got dumped by a guy again? Your mascara looks smudged!" Carina's comment got Drew to turn to give a snappy comment, but she stopped short, remembering the time when she'd cursed the Aphrodite cabin for a month with really bad luck. With a huff and a stomp of her Jimmy Choos, she walked off in the opposite direction.

Carina drew her into the sick bay, where Artemis Fowl II sat with Hesiod's Theogony on his lap, an expression of concentration etched on his face.

"Well, how did the burns happen?" Carina asked as she applied salve on the burns.

"Late for Wall-Climbing. It was either getting crushed by the clashing walls or climbing through the lava trails. I chose the latter of the two evils." She was now dabbing Savlon on Ana's wounds, causing her to wince.

"And what happened with Clarisse and Adam?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself?" A mischievous looking (weren't they all mischievous-looking?) Hermes boy walked in, cradling a broken arm, a patchwork of bruises and a black eye giving various shades of blue to his face. "Clarisse tracked me back to the cabin and gave me one hell of a beating, as you see. My traitor brothers did nothing to help, as you could guess." He looked over at Artemis. "Who's the miniature Moriarty? He undetermined?" Ana laughed over the perfect description Artemis had been assigned.

"Yes, and you're not being assigned his orientation tour. I am, because I don't want him being charged with stealing the entire camp's weapons." Artemis, who seemed to have overheard her words, walked over.

"Has he successfully completed that task?" She glared at the Fowl heir, causing him to take a step back.

"With the help of his twin brothers? Yes, he stole half the camp's artillery. With you, the gods alone know what he could do." Adam took a bow.

"Adam Schmidt, at your service." Turning to Ana, he winked. "I can see why. Smart hot guys rarely come down your alley, don't they? Bet you're praying he isn't your sibling." She wished she hadn't stood up for him. An unconscious Adam was way better.

"He isn't, he-" the son of Hermes took no time to smirk and deliver a comment.

"Just because he's a raven? Honey, your mom could be giving you another genius brother."

"He's the legacy of a male god, you airhead. Let people finish their sentences."

"Ah." He looked at Artemis, then whistled appreciatively. "Damn, he's fine."

"Will you stop hitting on him? He's getting more uncomfortable by the second!" Carina was grinning. Artemis' face was certainly an acceptable shade of pink. "Go hit on Mitchell."

"Or Andrew Scott's cut-out," Ana suggested innocently. Adam merely smiled dreamily.

"I would've been if it wasn't stolen by Lacy. She fangirls over it as much as I do. Poor girl." He turned to Artemis. "Anyways, when you're done healing, come to Cabin 11, the cabin with the most noise around it. Goodbye, ladies and gentleman!" Artemis' face had gotten back to its usual vampire-pale complexion.

"Can you walk properly now?" Ana asked him, to which he replied with a nod. "Then we should get going. I'd better show you camp today."

* * *

**_ Artemis _ **

His first thoughts about the camp?

**_Too hot._ **

They stepped out into the open and Artemis immediately felt the hot sunlight beating down on him – something he was unaccustomed to in Ireland.

"You'll have to get used to the heat – we barely get cloudy days here, and that too only when Lord Zeus or Poseidon are angry," Ana told him as they walked past people. He was dressed in a black polo shirt and jeans packed by his mother for him.

"You shouldn't look out of place," Angeline Fowl told him as she dumped half a dozen jeans, polo shirts and t-shirts in his bag. He'd barely evaded the Randomosity t-shirt by forfeiting all his suits – even people here wouldn't be insane enough to wear that infernal headless four fingered T-Shirt.

"You don't look too pleased with the place," the daughter of Athena commented.

"It's radically different than the atmosphere I'm used to." She seemed to consider his statement for a moment, then nodded.

"Camp Jupiter would've been apt for you." He analysed the sentence – Camp Jupiter would suggest a Roman outfit, judging by the name.

"I believe Camp Jupiter would be for demigods preferring the Roman way of living." She smiled, shaking her head.

"Actually, you're quite far off the mark – it's for children of the Roman gods." This confused him.

"The Greek and the Roman pantheon have the same deities, with only minor differences in names, duties and characteristics."

"Not really." They walked past the hippodrome, where a chariot race was going on. "Every few centuries, the gods shift – they move to that time's centre of power, the focal point of the Western civilisation in that era. At the very beginning, it was Greece – then came Rome, then France, Spain, England, and now it is America." They then went to an amphitheatre, where she sat down in one of the rows, a campfire pit in front of them. It was being tended by a small girl in a dress, her earnest face focused on the fire. She looked at the two of them and waved cheerfully, Ana waving back with a smile.

The little girl's small gesture made him feel a lot more at home here.

He went and sat down beside her, watching the little girl tend to the flames. She picked up where they left off.

"When the gods moved to Rome, however, their personalities changed to quite an extent – they became more militaristic, _godlier,_ for lack of a better term. The Romans made them into beings solely for worship – not beings who would mingle with mortals, like they do now, so most of the common gods developed split personalities – in many cases quite radical. My mother's Roman form, for instance, hasn't had children since her inception." Artemis didn't have a fitting response to that. She stood up, dusting off whatever grime had collected on her clothes.

"We should see the rest of camp before lunch. After that, I'll show you the cabins, and we'll move you to Cabin 11." They walked past the little girl, Ana bowing a little. "Lady Hestia." He looked for a while at the 9 year old who was supposed to be the oldest of the Olympians. A closer look at her face showed the somewhat visible aura she was emanating, her eyes like miniature fireplaces – full of warmth and a homely feeling.

"Good morning, Lady Hestia. It's an honour to meet you," he ventured forward, unsure of what else to say.

"Hello, Artemis. It's a pleasure to meet you too. Good to be back, isn't it?" He had a nagging feeling the goddess was hinting at something that wasn't really connected to the gods. "I'm afraid your friends need you more than you think."

"Lady Hestia, would it be too much to ask if I asked you what you meant?" She smiled.

"Not really. But I can't tell you what you want to hear – that's something you'll have to find out with the help of your friends. I hope you find a home in this camp." Artemis felt he would be better off not questioning the goddess further and followed his guide, who was waiting for him by a tree.

"I believe Lady Hestia must've told you something of importance, possibly concerning your fate. Care to share?" They were on their way to a lake.

"She just told me that my friends require me more than I assumed, and that I would require their assistance to get the answers I wished to obtain." A thinking expression again came on her face.

"I can safely say this information might be useful to you later on – Lady Hestia has a knack for offering crucial pieces of information or sound advice in a few well-meaning words. It helped Percy Jackson save Olympus and the world." And there was that name again. "We must get going now. It's almost lunchtime – we'll see the lake, then the dining pavilion."

The lake was crowded, to say at the least. Campers taking canoeing classes were joined by fellow campers with nothing to do. Friendly naiads were helping up the occasional student whose canoe capsized, the trainer naiad shaking her head ruefully.

Standing by an olive tree was a tall camper wearing a necklace of beads, cleaning a pair of spectacles as he watched a girl row.

"That's Jason, current camp leader in absence of Percy. Percy will be back this evening with Annabeth from school. You may have noticed the absence of campers right now," at that Artemis scoffed. _Absence?_ "Because these are only the year round ones." Jason walked over, a friendly smile on his face, eyes gleaming behind the spectacles.

"Jason Grace, son of Zeus," he offered a hand. This too, was a name he had heard before. He took his hand, shaking it.

"Artemis Fowl the Second. My legacy is undetermined as of now." He looked confused, his expression showing hesitance regarding something. Artemis expected him to say something substantial, but all that came was this –

"You should get going now – its lunchtime."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that, folks. I'll be putting in the rest of the OC's in the coming chapters. Read and review!
> 
> In all demigodishness,  
> teenagecriminalmastermind


	6. My American Cousins

**_Artemis_ **

He could’ve rightfully called his first actions at lunch as proof that he didn’t belong in the Hermes Cabin.

Artemis followed Ana to an open pavilion with two dozen lunch tables, each table having a separate brazier beside it. 

“You’ll have to join the Hermes kids,” she directed him to the most crowded table of all, full of raucous children and teenagers ranging from seven to seventeen years old. A pair of twins sat at the head of the table, Adam Schmidt beside them.

“There he is!” Adam called out. “Come join us!” Adam made him sit between the twins. “Connor, Travis,” he pointed them out, “this is Artemis.” The twins shared a look, then burst laughing.

“Isn’t Artemis a girl’s name?” And there it was.

“Yes,” he began in the same cold tone he had employed while negotiating with the Russian Mafia, “But every now and then, a male comes along with such skill at hunting that he earns the right to use the name. I am that male. Is that an issue for any of you?” Everyone fell silent for a while, campers turning to see the cause of silence at the Hermes table. He saw Jason Grace studying him, staring thoughtfully. The girl whom Jason had been watching at the lake raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. Ana’s lips were pinched together, suppressing a smile.

“Whoa man, we didn’t mean to offend you,” Travis spoke, breaking the icy silence.

“I dislike being incessantly inquired about my name. It would be beneficial for all if you chose to never broach this topic again.” The rest of lunch progressed the way Artemis assumed was the daily routine of the Hermes cabin (if the Olympian did exist and procreated with mortals, that is) – offering food to the gods, then chucking the rest at each other, and eating what they stole from each other’s plates.

He didn’t join in the last two.

Ducking his head to avoid another piece of pumpkin pie, Artemis quietly chewed on his brisket, observing the rest of camp. The dining pavilion offered a beautiful view of the entire place, and he could see the creek lake, and the fields, as well as the cabins.

With lunch over, the campers rose to leave. A fourteen year old bumped into him, muttering apologies as she collected what looked like indigo feathers off the ground. The campers around her, however, seemed to find the entire exercise funny and jeer-worthy, beginning to call the shy girl names as they passed by - it made the retort die on his tongue; he didn't wish to be perceived as part of the inane crowd, whose members did not possess brains of their own. No one seemed in the mood to help her, though, save for the girl he had seen in the infirmary.

“Here,” she collected the remaining feathers off the ground, offering a reassuring smile. “Kat, don’t listen to those weirdos. They just don’t have the guts to say it on your face.”

“Too chicken to face their nightmares, aren’t they,” the girl muttered. Artemis finally got a view of the source of the feathers – the wings on her back, which seemed to grow out of her back, but had to be sewn into her T-shirt, for sanity's sake. He began to question the campers themselves now, and the theory that he might be under a hallucinogen resurfaced, this time bolstered by the weird sight.

“I'm Catarina,” the girl from the sick-bay spoke, “and that is Aikaterine, or Kat, as we all call her.” The latter waved shyly, the former depositing the wings in a dustbin. “Kat, this is Artemis. New, as you can tell.”

“You should learn the ropes of this place soon - this place is like any regular camp, plus the irregularities which come with being descendants of the gods,” the girl spoke, twisting her hair around a finger apprehensively. With a curt nod, he walked back to the Big House, Anastasia waiting outside with a small carton.

"Here's some stuff you'll need." Inside the cardboard carton was a collection of everyday objects that he had not forgotten to bring, along with some he was not expecting to see.

"I presume those orange T-Shirts and blue denim jeans are a mandatory uniform that every camper must wear?"

"Not really. If you have jeans and T-Shirts in your clothing, you could wear those. Since you haven’t been claimed yet, we’ll have to send you to the Hermes cabin, as rules demand. Just head to the most worn-out cabin with the paint splatters, caduceus and the number 11."

"I suppose you will act as a guide and direct me to said establishment?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"I just gave you directions. Follow them – I’m not your nanny, and you're not intellectually impaired, are you? I have kitchen duty and don't want to die at the hands of harpies."  _ What a charming end to a conversation.  _

Dusk was beginning to dominate the horizon, which struck him as odd, and Artemis, after getting his bags from the Big House ( _ what a ludicrous name _ ) headed towards the large wing of buildings, each unique in its architecture. 

However, their uniqueness was  **_not_ ** appealing.

The first cabin, tall and grand in its standing, looked like a desolate mausoleum, a temple of a bygone era. Artemis was unaware of the stereotypical teenager’s likenesses, but he was sure that Zeus’ cabin, with its polished pillars and its holographic floor, with an aura of desolation and aloofness clouding it, was their worst nightmare.  _ Maybe the megalomaniac emo ones might like this. _

Hera’s cabin looked more graceful, but was even more desolate and mausoleum-like than its predecessor. While the Zeus cabin showed some signs of habitation (the slight dust-tracks around the holographic eagle were proof), the Hera cabin screamed emptiness.  _ The pomegranates are especially ridiculous.  _ Despite crinkling his nose in derision and disgust at the musty cabin, he ventured ahead.

The interior was dark and dank, the smell of mildew prevalent. A quick scan of the room showed it to be devoid of furniture, with only a gigantic statue of Hera dominating the room. With nothing else left to observe, he quietly exited the cabin, much to the chagrin of many onlookers.

The next cabin best resembled a sea bunker. The coral and seashell embedded in the outside walls did nothing but establish a garish contrast with the rough sea stone building. The trident with the big bronze number 3 established it to be the sea god’s. The mythical hippocampi  _ somehow  _ survived on the top of this establishment. And the smell of water –  _ does this building house hurricanes and sea storms? _

The next building looked like a conservatory gone amok. Flowers and creepers grew  _ everywhere. _ And the grass roof didn’t help matters. Its occupants didn’t look upset by the flammability of it, though, rather revelling in this overflowing flora.

The cabin in front would even make Trouble Kelp cry for his mother.

Hurriedly painted red, with the remaining crevices filled with what looked like blood, a large boar at the helm of the frieze and barbed wire on the roof only emphasized the fact that it was the war god’s cabin. Metal and rock blared from the cabin, and he quickly walked past to avoid ear damage.

The sixth cabin was probably the most sober, and the most appealing so far. It was also the most simple, and lacking creativity. He had to give it to the others – at least they were creative. This looked straight out of a dystopian novel, as much as it appealed to his aesthetic. He could see the blondes at work inside, and it struck him that these work oriented INTP’s and INTJ’s would probably be his only allies in this strange camp.

The next cabin was the most garish, and the only thought that struck him –  _ what a waste of gold. _

The eighth cabin was equally annoying – it seemed like the gods had a propensity for wasting precious metals.  _ Then again, whoever paid for its construction possesses the resources for it.  _ Seeing that no one inhabited this building as well, he followed his instinct and stayed clear. 

The ninth building looked like a small factory, and going by the amount of soot it was coated in, a bomb ready to go off. The gears at the entrance, however intricate, served no purpose.

The cabin across would make Minerva and Holly puke at first sight and smell. Why smell?  _ I haven’t smelt as much perfume since the Yuletide ball. _

The next cabin was his destination – peeling paint, a caduceus at the door and full of yelling and pranking children and teenagers. Connor and Travis were busy pickpocketing a younger kid, who, upon noticing, proceeded to empty the slimy contents of his pockets on them. Thankfully, a bed at the corner had been spared. He walked in, and placed his contents on the empty bed (which had his name and a smiley written on a Post-It on it). A moment later, something cold, wet and sticky cascaded down the back of his polo shirt.

“Sorry man,” the kid apologized and ran out the door behind the Stolls, carrying an aerosol can labelled Silly String. 

“Where is the washroom?” Adam Schmidt, who was now sitting on an adjoining bed, staring at the sticky mess with amusement shook his head. “All of ‘em are occupied – sword fighting practice just got over.” Artemis would’ve sought verification, but the hoard of demigods running towards the shower stalls was running proof.

With no option left, he stalked off to the most private corner available, and with much reluctance, took off his shirt. A few gasps echoed across the room, and he could hear Schmidt groan softly. Red in the face (literally) and red in vision (metaphorically), he put on another black polo and walked out of the cabin. 

The twelfth cabin was so encased in vines that he never really got a look at the building. Whatever purple peeked through made him feel dizzy. “The amount of purple is simply disgusting – who was involved in the creation of this monstrosity?” The people who overheard him looked around furtively, as if the bushes themselves would spring up and attack them.

The thirteenth was Disney’s Underworld incarnate. Obsidian walls with green fire gave it an ominous look, and if that wasn’t enough, the strange darkness that perpetually surrounded it served to separate it from this realm itself.

The next cabin, made of simple oak wood, was covered in bright banners advertising the wonders of organic food and the importance of happiness. The interior’s colour scheme best embodied the term ‘A rainbow barfed on it’.  _ Steve Jobs and Jim Henson would be proud of its conservation of hippie culture. _

The fifteenth cabin, judging by the vapours emanating, was a drug den disguised as a cabin. 

The sixteenth had a broken wheel on the top, with 16 hanging in place of the missing part. Few people seemed to live there, and they didn’t look as happy as their neighbours.  _ Which seems like a good sign. _

The next cabin was missing the Nike, Reebok and Adidas sports commercials to complete its look of ‘Most Competitive Batch of Individuals  **_Ever_ ** .’

Cabin eighteen looked like your stereotypical teen’s paradise. He vaguely recognised some of Juliet’s favourite bands (Panic! At the Disco and Fun) along with other peppy tracks and people hanging up a huge banner that said YOLO.  _ Why…  _ The disgusted facial expression conveyed his hidden urge to smack his forehead.

Cabin nineteen and twenty looked similar, with the only difference being that twenty’s bricks had runes inscribed on them, which glowed every time he heard a Latin phrase uttered inside the building. Nothing else left to do and darkness descending steadily (to some people’s surprise), Artemis walked back to the eleventh cabin, meeting Ana on the way. She smiled slightly, before staring at a spot above his head, her facial expressions not boding any good for him. At all.


	7. Murphy's Law

_ **Ana** _

_**Well, he'll have to move his stuff again.** _

This had to be the only century (after perhaps that of the Trojan Wars) that the Greeks had such shitty luck – or extremely good fortune – to be bestowed with such heroes. She had sincerely hoped Fowl wasn't a part of the retinue.

Apparently the gods had other plans.

The symbol glowing above his head wasn't common enough to begin with, but Thanatos? _Damn, son. Or rather, grandson._ And one couldn't exactly blame her for her reaction, could they?

The stoic silence that surrounded them was soon broken, by the most apt reply possible for this situation –

"Well, shit happens; just go with the flow."

Those were the wise words of Perseus Jackson, _and very wise words indeed,_ Ana mused, as he took lead and stepped towards Artemis, from whom the crowd had begun to retreat. _What are they expecting, skeletons to erupt or something? Nico's claiming did involve the ground tearing apart and skeletons erupting, so they say…. Fair enough._ The internal monologue was once again interrupted by Percy.

"So, dude, welcome to camp. What's your name?"

"Artemis Fowl II." Artemis had probably not comprehended the situation in its entirety, else he wouldn't have been this calm. _The guy should be freaking out if he knew exactly what happened. But then, he doesn't even want to believe in the gods._ Percy tried not to smile, while Annabeth smacked her forehead.

"So… Artemis, right? Well, are you still at the Big House?" Someone had gotten Chiron, who was quietly observing the scene with a pensive look.

"I was very recently assigned the Hermes cabin. I'm to assume that I'll have to move now?" Percy nodded.

"Cabin Thirteen-"

"The Hades cabin, I deduced that after seeing the skull hovering above my head, thank you very much." Percy didn't seem put off by his cold attitude though.

"Um, not that god," Ana spoke up. "It's Thanatos, the god of Death. I know it isn't Hades, because I asked Nico – his father's symbol is his helm of terror."

Silence – a few of the campers retreated faster than they could gape. Percy looked confused.

"Well… I'll get Nico to help you with stuff." He did a double take. "On second thoughts… I'll just help you out myself. Where is Nico?" If he wasn't there before, he was then, having run like a maniac from his cabin after seeing the sigil.

"Thanatos does not have _**any**_ kids. I'm sure of it." And he was quite forceful of his stand.

"I am a legacy." The former turned to look at Artemis, eyebrows raised.

"And who told you that?"

"My father has reliably informed me that I happen to be a legacy of Zeus, Athena and a male god, who happens to be my grandfather. In whom I still don't believe," he muttered the last sentence. Percy gave a sympathetic look, having heard the end, while Nico still held on to his "I don't believe this shit" look.

"Um… Okay. Still, I'll have to consult with my father." That raised quite a few eyebrows from the remaining crowd of demigods, which included Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Juniper, Piper, Jason, Leo (whose nose was still flaming), Miranda, Katie, Lou-Ellen, Connor, Travis, Clarisse, Will, Kayla, Drew, Mitchell, Lacy, Nyssa, Harley, Austin, Aikaterine, Cecil, Catarina and Adam (It was quite a few of them). "A commune – I just can't have a chat with him, can I," Nico announced with a roll of his eyes. That prompted Will to speak.

"I don't think that's required – the god had his say, and you're still in no shape for this stuff, what after that scuffle with an empousa in New York."

"Will-"

"Doctor's orders." The Italian huffed and retreated towards Jason, Piper and Leo. "So," Percy began, "we move Artemis in, then go on as usual. I don't want anyone in camp treating him like a weirdo outcast, alright?"

"Like the punk isn't enough of a weirdo," Clarisse grunted.

"I think the case is closed," Annabeth spoke. "Artemis moves in tonight – there's no reason why he shouldn't; all his meals, activities and tasks are to be assigned with the Hades cabin, since Thanatos doesn't have any yet. I assume the head counselor will now take charge?" Nico nodded. "Then it's settled." People slowly dispersed, discussing amongst themselves, with Drew's fervent "that hottie is worth the tall-dark stranger thing" prompting dirty looks from Mitchell and Piper.

After the majority had left, Chiron stepped forward, eager to finally get the peace he wanted for his conversation.

"Artemis, I hope you understand the gravity of the situation."

"I don't see anything detrimental coming out of this," was the individual in question's reply.

"Son, you were pursued by two Gorgons, were you not? And that too Medusa?" He nodded. Annabeth pulled her sister aside, eager to understand the entire situation at hand. While Artemis and Percy headed to the Big House, Nico not far behind with Jason, Ana walked away with Piper, Annabeth's thinking face even more scrunched up than usual.

"I should be used to this by now," she muttered; Ana couldn't help but chuckle darkly. "A legacy of Thanatos?" A silence settled down between the three. "Well, I'll be heading for a shower now." A pause.

"Maybe this isn't as bad as it looks." Piper sounded upbeat, but didn't really look like it. And if she'd seen the large lion-like silhouette in the woods, her tone would've probably matched her expression.

"We're demigods, Piper. Murphy's Law." Ana walked off to the woods to investigate, hoping that the statistical probability of good was higher in this case, but hey, they were demigods.

_ **Holly** _

_**Asses.** _

That's what most of the guys in the Retrieval squad were. Scratch that – that's what all those guys in the Retrieval squad were, with their gung-ho impulsive commander Trouble Kelp at the helm of their annoying machismo. And as much as Holly liked Trouble, his male ego would get the better of him and she would feel like using his face as a crunchball dunk basket.

Which pretty much summed up what she was feeling right now.

"No, Trouble, I don't care if your new recruit Harvey is the best of the lot and was sleep-ridden; he crashed a pod and blew up Target Room 1 as a result. The kid is out."

"He's a great guy! You can't throw him out of training halfway! Had this been a girl, I don't think-"That got the better of Holly's sound judgement.

"I would've still thrown her out – especially if it was a girl, you know. Sexism has no place in the LEPRecon, and I don't want to set a precedent that girls are treated like delicate flowers even here," she snapped at him, putting a stack of folders in her desk drawer.

"You sound way too much like Root."

"Well, he wasn't always wrong, you know."

"But Harvey does deserve a chance." A sigh escaped her, and she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ignore the red-stamped file that read 'swear-toad epidemic' – she would deal with that one later.

"We'll have to see – a disciplinary hearing and complete procedural measures will be taken in this case as well."

"Holly, none of this is required."

"It is."

"Is not." Before the argument could escalate, Grub Kelp ran in, looking excited and way out of shape – _the skinny physique won't help the kid if he wants a promotion to Recon._

"Holly, Trouble, Foaly needs you at the Ops Booth – there's something you both need to see."

While Foaly was known to get excited over the smallest of things, this would have to be something major, because the centaur was pacing around the Ops Booth frantically, downing carrots faster than any professional carrot-eating-competition centaur (which DO exist, as a matter of fact). The tinfoil hat was back on again, and several other unsuccessful designs lay crumpled in a corner.

"Um, Foaly?" Trouble peeked in, and the centaur quickly ushered the duo in, sitting back in front of the screen.

"What is it?" Holly looked curious and peered at the screen, unable to make sense of the coordinates sprinkled all over the projected map of North America.

"There's been an attack at one of our American facilities." He brought up a picture of a quiet, sleepy town, a signboard reading Lagrange, Maine. "There are occasional compound breaches, especially in Florida and whatnot, but this facility here," a secure compound came up now, "was especially constructed in this town to make sure no one, fairy or human, ever found it. The population is low, so any collateral damage would be minimized. But somehow, some son of a gun found it. Swear toad, rather."

"Swear toad?" Holly cocked an eyebrow, Trouble peering curiously at a video playing on loop. "What's this one done to offend you so bad?" He smirked.

"The curses on the note left would even shame you Retrieval boys." Foaly pulled up the video, projecting it on the adjacent wall. "Look," the silhouette of a human sized figure crept through the corridor, built looking like a teenager's – light and agile, at that. "Nothing happens for the next five minutes," he fast-forwarded the video to 12:40. "Now see this." The person picked up a small package the size of a Rubik's cube, and after pocketing it, left a note at its place. "Now observe _**very carefully,**_ "Foaly broke down each frame, the trio observing each shot keenly. "At 15:05 minutes, he just disappears." And as the centaur said, the individual vanished in thin air at the very moment.

"That's just impossible," was Trouble's verdict.

"Not with magic it isn't," Holly muttered. She knew of only one human who had ever possessed magic, and even that individual had no possession of it anymore. "Did you contact Artemis?"

"That's the problem," Foaly said, looking somewhat conflicted as he did so. "It was the C-Cube he recreated for us that got stolen, and Mud Boy and Butler just disappeared after landing in New York four days ago. And that note was written in Gnommish."

"Are you trying to say…?" Trouble gave him a questioning look.

"There's no human technology ever created that could shield him from LEP satellites. And Hybras was long destroyed. But there's something that I found, and it isn't pretty." An article from the New York Times local section came up, titled 'Explosion on Long Island Highway, two missing.' "The driver described the passengers as 'a 16-year old in an Armani suit' and 'a guy the size of a mountain'."

Holly rubbed her temples – _you, my friend, swore this nonsense was over._ "Do the Fowls know anything about this?"

"I haven't contacted them yet – which is why I called you. I need you to speak to his parents. You're the closest friend he has after Butler, and therefore our only fairy correspondent." _Well, Chairman Cahartez's swear toad epidemic would have to wait._ "I don't think Artemis did it, but I don't know what he's planning if he did. More importantly, off whom did he get the magic if he did so, and how he found the facility when there were no locators installed on the Cube – I personally disinfected it."

Holly wasn't a big believer in the seventh sense of Intuition, as the Hey-Hey monks called it, but she had feeling that even though Artemis wasn't involved in this, he was in for some deep trouble.

"I just hope Murphy's Law is on our side for once." That broke her train of thought.

"Murphy's Law?"

"A human thing, but pretty accurate – it means that whatever can happen, will happen. And in the case of Artemis Fowl II, whatever bad can happen, does happen."


	8. The Clueless Case of Anastasia Cromwell

_**Artemis** _

" _ **Can we get moving now?"**_

While Artemis still could not believe that a centaur apart from Foaly existed (due to Foaly's rather passionately delivered Intel that there were only a dozen of them left on and below the Earth now), the wheelchair contraption and his stallion-like body rising from the average-sized wheelchair was an impressive trick. He could see the schematic of the device building itself in his mind, the carbon-fiber and duralumin exoskeleton coming together to support the hollow stallion-like support for the paralyzed lower limbs.

During the meeting, he had been informed that he was the descendant of the god of Death (Thanatos, not Hades, as many surmised) and this discovery, while welcome, would lead to several complications in his already complicated existence, with several of the complications revolving around a "prophecy" which had been repeatedly mentioned.

An oracle had been mentioned too, but it certainly wasn't one of Larry Ellison's (he cringed inwardly at his terrible pun). Rather, it was one of Apollo's, with the spirit of Delphi residing in the 17 year old red-headed female who had been present in the room throughout the conversation. Percy Jackson and Jason Grace had groaned at the mention of a prophecy, with Nico di Angelo having just rolled his eyes at the word. They had all looked at the read-headed female (who was Rachel Dare, daughter of multibillionaire and closet Extinctionist William Dare - her presence here confirmed the rumours that Dare Industries wasn't passing down to any heirs soon).

"Well, I'm not a jukebox, am I?" she had retorted for a reply, staring pointedly at the other three boys in the room. "When the spirit wishes to reveal it to everyone, it will."

With that the meeting had been concluded, and the four exited the centaur's office, where Miss Dare fed Cheetos to a cheetah (whose head was the only visible part of his body – Artemis assumed they released the animal from the scaffold at nighttime, when there were no impressionable young men to regale with paltry acts of trickery). _I'm certainly acerbic today._ And he had every right to be – hoodwinking was something he appreciated, but only when he was the one performing it.

"Can we get moving now, Fowl, when you're done daydreaming about whatever in my father's name it was?" Nico di Angelo reiterated his question, and Artemis got moving.

"Your father really is Hades." Nico turned to look at him.

"No shit, Sherlock." The rest of the walk proceeded in silence, till they reached cabin 13. While Artemis was not afflicted with triskaidekaphobia, he still disliked the number. It was four twice added to five, and adding death twice to a nice round number like five wasn't really ideal in his post-Atlantis brain. And two individuals with Death for supposed ancestors wasn't good either.

Come to think of it, cabins 4, 8, 12 and 16 had struck him as more disagreeable than the rest. _Gods damn it._ Then came the mental smack.

"Here you go," di Angelo walked in, and Artemis felt like someone had transported him to Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. "Trust me - I didn't choose any of this - campers think Hades kids are more of vampires than just normal demigods." _Well, di Angelo's pale Italian complexion isn't helpful._

"I don't suppose the cabin has any other occupants?" Nico nodded while pointing to a bed.

"That's yours. I threw the old beds out - you should thank me for that." He noticed that only occupied bed (till now) was one of the most austere, a futon with plain black sheets. His was slightly higher in height, but more or less of the same design. "We have capture the flag in forty minutes, so meet me outside the cabin in twenty minutes tops - lights out is usually by twelve, but you can have it earlier: I don't mind the darkness at all."

Artemis decided to make the most of his twenty minutes by lying down on his bed and burrowing under the covers, thinking. He could hear di Angelo walking out of the cabin, and decided to poke his head out to confirm his short-lived solitude. Sure enough, he was alone now.

As mentioned before, Artemis' solitude was indeed short-lived, and the end of his twenty minutes was signaled by di Angelo waving a pillow by his side, the object occasionally hitting the covers.

"Back from the land of the dead?" The two exchanged a stare, after which the Italian sighed. "I know; it's a terrible pun. Just get up - you need to suit up." Nico received a raised brow as a reply. "Well, you don't expect to survive swords, spears and Clarisse la Rue with just your luck and extreme sprinting, do you?"

_ **Ana** _

_**Even if that lion didn't, the Ares cabin would certainly kill her tonight.** _

While Ana considered the plan foolproof, with even Annabeth giving it her 'Nestor nod', anything could happen in Capture the Flag, and having the Ares cabin on your opposing side wasn't the best thing that could happen to a person.

With everyone in attendance, Annabeth was busy surveying the plans and cross-checking with their allies (who were the Apollo, Poseidon, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus and Hades cabins, amongst Nike, Hypnos, and Hebe), Malcolm was checking artillery while Percy chatted with the cabin head counsellors, revisiting duties assigned. Ana was taking attendance of squad members.

"Defense?" Thirty hands shot up. "Archers?" About ten more.

"Offensive?" Counting her, six.

"Weapon commanders?" Leo, along with Nyssa, Austin and Harley, grinned and whooped.

And so on.

Percy walked up to her. "Where's Nico?"

"Should've been here five minutes ago."

"Jason's saying he'll beat us to the flag. I told him that with Nico on our side, fat chance. But if he doesn't show up… I know that wouldn't happen." He fingered the straps on his arms. "What about Artemis - where's the new kid?" A moment later, Percy grinned, elbowing Annabeth while pointing to the approaching duo. "Doesn't look too different from me on my first day,eh?" Annabeth gave a confirmatory nod, smiling, while Ana wondered if Percy had really looked like his armour was about to swallow him and drag him three metres under the ground.

"I'll need proof," she told Annabeth. A minute later, Chiron trotted into their midst, surveying the campers with the same studious look as always.

"Campers, you know the rules - capture the flag."

And so began their weekly camp conflict.

* * *

The Ares cabin was unrelenting. _As usual._

They had decimated the Demeter kids, with the exception of Katie Gardner, whose poison ivy and Venus Flytraps had Mark and Sherman screaming like five-year olds. The Hebe cabin had done a fairly good defence but was flattened by the electric spear. The Apollo kids were holding up magnificently, with Neil and James leading the archers. Castor had refused to help, being too drunk to actually _do_ anything. The Hypnos kids were good the first few minutes, but fell asleep after knocking out a couple of Hecate kids. Leo had the flag covered, and Percy and Nico were on the opposing team's case. _Annabeth will hold the fort - I should check on Artemis._ So she ran behind Nico and Artemis, the former rescinding his shadow travel in order to not make his partner puke his guts out.

"Ghost King!" Nico whirled, blade at her chin. "I'll take over from here - you join Percy." With a nod, Nico disappeared in the nearest shadow, the dryad wailing.

"Why do all of you willingly risk your lives? For a mere rush of adrenaline?" By that time, Ana was quite irritated with the tactical situation already, and the last thing she wanted was to take care of a petulant, whining teen who didn't know how to fight.

"As much as you think it's stupid," she snapped at him, "we actually learn real combat-" He scoffed loudly, giving her a condescending sneer.

"Which could be done in safer environs, had you all the sense to involved holographic technology."

"Guess what, _**genius**_?" she bitterly spat out the word. "There is no safety on the battlefield, and enemies sure as hell aren't holograms. But you'd know nothing, having never been involved in a war." The colour seemed to drain from Artemis' face, replacing it with white anger, which began to turn cold, icy and biting. She didn't know what she'd said, but if looks could kill, every living being in a sixty feet radius would be dead and disintegrated.

"Miss Cromwell, don't speak of things you have no inkling of." He stepped closer, backing her by the tree, and for the first time, Ana found his five feet ten inches tall frame intimidating. "I have faced dangers you could have only imagined. So Do. Not. Speak of it." She would've said something, but a lion's roar is good enough to break the thickest of tensions.

She could vaguely hear Jason's voice in the distance and remember Artemis darting out of the way as the beast charged towards her, grey fur glinting like steel. Thanks to three scared bush dryads and a protruding tree root, she tripped and ended up barricaded between the tree and the lion. _To climb or not to climb, that is the question._ She had begun to scramble up the tree when a sharp whistle sounded across from her, and a vague instinct told her that something very stupid was about to happen.

_**Artemis** _

_**He should really return the title of**_ ' **Europe's Smartest Individual'** _ **.**_

Artemis could've waited for backup, but no, he had to whistle and turn the damn beast towards him. While the alternative was letting the girl who'd helped him not make an idiot of himself be mauled to death (which, he mused, looked very probable when he committed the idiotic), this was just as bad a deal.

It got worse when di Angelo jumped in.

Not that Artemis was too worried about the Italian he'd just met, he didn't want any deaths on his conscience. The lion was at least as tall as Artemis and would weigh approximately 600 pounds. 600 pounds of pure muscle and myth versus a 110 pound sixteen year old armed with only a sword - the comparison was laughable.

Well, laughable until the shadows cloaked the beast, trapping him in a shroud like cover. Di Angelo parried and struck, holding the beast at bay while the other campers shot whatever they laid their hands on - that ranged from arrows to knives to hairbrushes (he had a faint idea where the last might've come from). The blonde nurse (Will, he reminded himself) joined them, hacking at the ankles of the creature, while di Angelo took front, All seemed in control, until the lion decided it had enough and trapped him and Will by a rather large pine.

Will, sandwiched between him and the lion, tried wriggling out, _which was counterproductive from the very beginning,_ Artemis mentally berated as the beast pushed them further into the tree. "Stop moving immediately - lions only further maul their prey if they struggle!" Apparently free advice was not welcome advice.

"If you could stop spouting facts and help me out here it'd be great, Fowl!" Artemis was already having a hard time thinking with the bark pressing into him - he could feel the fabric give way as his skin prickled and smarted, the rough wood scraping his back thoroughly. A roaring 600 pound lion, whose claws unhelpfully scraped his arms, and a 130-pound demigod pressed between the two wasn't helping him at all.

Just as he felt he'd dealt with enough pain for the coming years, the lion was suddenly yanked back by a combination of wind, shadows and platinum-goldlike chains. Artemis and Will slumped against the tree while Ana, Grace, Jackson, Chase and di Angelo, along with a few more campers, roped the animal in. In a final bid for freedom, it reared with full strength, its body weight aimed towards Artemis, who did the only thing he could think of then - he raised his arm, the other pushing Will out of the way.

_I really shouldn't have done that._

* * *

_**Well, that wasn't his fault. Intentionally.** _

Artemis had not expected a person to just drop dead on his touch during capture the flag, but that's what had happened. Or that's what it looked like, because it didn't look like that child of Apollo was breathing.

"I apologize for my actions, if that lessens the severity of the situation." It seemed to help matters, but certainly didn't, because after a minute's worth of shock and silence, Nico di Angelo was flying at him, his fists pulled back.

"Nico!" He heard Jackson call out.

It was a split second in which di Angelo's fist collided with his nose. "You.." he snarled, voice quiet but utterly menacing - he felt himself recoil from the son of Hades, "Murderer. I can't feel Will's spirit." He punched Artemis in his stomach. "Because..." another, "of..." and another, "You..." Ana was trying to pull him away, while Jason and Perseus wrested Nico from him.

"I don't think he's dead. Would've done you all some good to give some CPR and check his pulse, you know?"

Kneeling beside the son of Apollo was a young lady with nut brown skin, her mismatched eyes reminding Artemis of the many adventures and catastrophes they had been through.

"Holly?"

_ **Ana** _

_**She'd had a lot of strange days , but this was the strangest.** _

Watching someone just drop like they're dead was something that was still mythical to Ana, and her entire life was a myth.

So when the lion just dropped, she wondered if someone's sword had run through it, but with no marks and no blood around, this was number one on the list of the most creepy things ever. Standing in front of the creature was Artemis, his arms raised. She looked at him, and the look he returned was something mixed with horror and fascination. Apart from the fear and curiosity she felt, a major part of her sighed with relief that the animal was dead and no one had been fatally hurt while bringing it down. Looking at Will though, she mentally scratched out the last sentence. He looked like death, _and probably is,_ she thought, horrified, as Nico's face lost all colour, the boy stumbling backwards looking like he'd been stabbed.

After a minute's worth of shock, Nico was all rage and anger, and Ana had just barely pulled Artemis out of harm's way. She could feel something sticky coat her arm around him and she pulled it back to see the small pool of blood coating his back. Lions seemed enough for the day, but it clearly had more surprises as the strangest being she'd ever seen knelt by Will, observing his pulse and running what seemed like blue sparks across his skin.

Artemis seemed to recognise her (it seemed like a female), even called her by a name - Holly? (again, a female name) - and walked towards her, shaking hands with the barely-a-metre-high person.

"We'll talk later, but these two need some serious medical attention," she said as Artemis began to sway. Ana put an arm under him, dragging him back to the infirmary, the camp staring at her and the female as the latter levitated Will back.

Once Will was settled, the female proceeded to help Artemis, running the same blue sparks across his arm but stopped short. He looked at her derisively while she kicked a chair in frustration.

"Still unprepared, Captain?"

"It's Commander to you, Mud Boy. And if you weren't involved in such a shitstorm, I'd have dragged you by the collar of your Armani to Haven first thing right now." Artemis smirked, the look fading into concern at the end of her sentence. Ana pulled out a pair of scissors from the first aid box.

"Just as a heads up, I'll be ripping apart your shirt," she said, cutting through the fabric while the female poured a pitcher of ice-cold water down his back. Artemis turned, annoyed. "You know it constricts blood-flow, genius." Holly grinned at her comment, pouring another pitcher down his back. Once the flow was contained, Ana turned to dress his wounds while Holly studied Will closely, Nico barging in after a few minutes.

He glared at everyone - Artemis in particular was given a look of deepest loathing - and took a seat by Will, holding his hand and checking his vitals.

"He's biologically living," Holly spoke to Artemis and Nico after a long silence, "but his soul seems absent. Like in a clone." Artemis nodded knowingly. "However, I don't know how his soul will be returned to him. What happened?" Artemis narrated the entire incident, and Holly shook her head tiredly, like a mother hearing her son's mischiefs for the umpteenth time, often muttering "Frond" or something like "Duh are wit", _which sounds like cult lingo, but hey, who am I to judge?_

"Like always, you had to be related to myths and do something weird and reckless in a world you barely know anything of," Holly gave him a reproving glare. "And if Lagrange is your doing, then Frond alone help you."

"Lagrange?" She looked at him quizzically, and they exchanged a series of looks, Holly's face settling into a worried look.

"So you didn't do it?"

"Whatever it is, which I'm guessing is related to the Cube - no, I didn't."

"Just what we needed," she muttered, "more genii knowing about us". Curiosity won over propriety as Ana butted into the otherwise private-not-so-private-but-private-anyway conversation.

"Wait, clone? Like a living, biologically functioning creature but with no soul? How does that work? How does it normally function, how does it think - how is it sentient without a soul? Can you even call it alive if it isn't sentient? And what of Langrange? C-Cube? Your biological makeup?" She had a lot more questions which tumbled from her mouth in a series of rambles and she looked across the two, waiting for an answer which she was sure would only compose of either "Nothing", "Calm down" or "You're clearly stressed out". Surprisingly, Fowl and the female smiled.

"You must be as confused as I am," she spoke, putting a hand on Ana's arm, "because it seems like we both have absolutely no clue of what we're doing."


	9. In Goats We Trust

Artemis

_**Well, they were damned.** _

As if getting his spine ripped apart wasn't enough, he was now being forced to endure what the teenagers called a 'war meeting'.

Set in the recreational room of the camp, the heads of each cabin gathered around a table tennis table, eating crackers and sprayable cheese. One of the counsellors attempted to set a table tennis bat on fire, and Artemis was pretty sure _**this**_ was the Leo Valdez he'd been hearing about. While he was not a cabin head, being the only descendant of Thanatos made him eligible to attend the do, and he wasn't so sure anymore whether he wanted to now.

"Campers, I assume you know what you just witnessed," Chiron the centaur began, looking around the table and the ten odd chairs squeezed around the ten front ones.

"You mean how the punk just made that lion drop dead?" The speaker was a tall, brown-haired female ("girl" just didn't suit her), electricity crackling across the tip of her spear.

"A Nemean Lion, Clarisse," Chiron replied. Some of the crowd gasped, and fervent muttering broke out.

"Are you serious!" "THAT thing was a Nemean lion?" "Damn, they're big."

"Guys - quiet," Jason spoke, focusing his gaze on Chiron again.

"Well, I would suppose that in light of the recent events, camp security needs to be upped again. A Nemean lion attack, while not a serious as a Gorgon's, is a serious event indeed. However, with both of these happening in quick succession, I think we can safely assume one thing - the camp is under attack again."

"Are you serious!" "No man - didn't we wipe out Gaia's forces?" "Gods damn it." "You've got to be kidding me." This time, the crowd was silenced by the entry of Rachel Dare, looking quite exhausted and feverish.

"Oh boy, we got a big one coming," a young man beside Artemis muttered ominously.

As if on cue, the redhead's eyes glowed green and green mist enveloped her shaking form as a blonde came running behind run with a three-legged stool. "There you go," she muttered as Rachel sat down, snakes of green smoke emerging from her mouth as she spoke.

_**Up north begins the quintet's trail,  
Magic and mind together prevail** _

_**Land of the damned two shall search  
To bring back the monster even the gods fear** _

_**Magic, myth, fear, distrust  
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust** _

"Even I don't get a single word of this one," Rachel muttered, slumped against the wall. The room was quiet, the only sound echoing being the crunching of Ritz crackers. Connor & Travis Stoll were listening with rapt attention, cracker crumbs falling out of their mouths as they chewed voraciously.

"What the…" Someone began, only to be silenced by Jason. "Language."

" _ **Up north begins the quintet's trail -**_ so, five of you," Annabeth Chase began. " _ **Magic and mind together prevail -**_ a child of Athena and a child of Hecate."

"Or, our fairy friend here," Ana suggested. "That was magic, right?" Holly nodded, looking grim. " _ **Land of the damned two shall search**_ …" An ominous chill was palpable, a secret all occupants of the room were too afraid to discuss. "Well, we'll see as it goes - it doesn't always have to be those, right?" Percy Jackson's face was an odd shade of white, knuckles clenched.

"I'm afraid not," he said, eyes darkening with a mixture of terror and rage - something about the fear in his eyes brought back images of the Berserker War, Nopal's lifeless body, Bellico in Juliet's form and the image of his possessed brothers flashing before him.

Annabeth put an arm on Jackson's, squeezing it gently. "We're safe," she murmured, and Jason Grace looked down, as if ashamed. Certain other members of the room reacted in a sympathetic or guilty manner as well, with Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo and Piper McLean being among them.

The two excused themselves from the meeting, Chiron's eyes following their retreating forms with a concerned glance. "There are some things that shall not be mentioned," he stated to the room, everyone nodding in understanding - Ana looked down, the look on her face conveying something akin to self-loathing. "Not that you shall be blamed for it, my child," Chiron stated gently. "Now, continue."

" _ **To bring back the monster even the gods fear,**_ " she continued. "Could be a reference to any of the primordials - or maybe Typhon. Why we would need _him_ is beyond me." Chiron nodded, signaling her to go on. " _ **Magic, myth, fear, distrust, Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,**_ " she ended with a sigh, looking around the room for help.

"Well, the last line is an obvious Biblical reference," Artemis began, "The preceding line signals at something, but I don't suppose anyone here would like to hear it."

"We don't have time for your theatrics, Mud-Artemis," Holly said, "get on with it."

"Magic - the fairy world; myth - the Olympians; fear and distrust - that's certainly obvious to the listeners. I suppose these two well-hidden worlds are going to be brought in the open, under the scrutiny of ordinary humans and mortals." It seemed impossible at the moment, but Holly's face turned grimmer.

"Sir, with all due respect," she began, "I'd like to pull aside Artemis after the meeting is over."

"Well, I don't suppose we have anything else to discuss - meeting adjourned." With that, present campers began to trickle out, leaving only Ana, himself and Holly behind.

"If you mind, I'll leave," Ana quickly spoke, heading towards the door.

"No - we'll need someone from your side as well here," Holly motioned at a chair.

"I thought Artemis would suffice."

"Once again - in a long time, of course -" she grinned, "Mud Boy isn't the smartest person in the room regarding something."

"Mud Boy?"

"Our term for humans."

"If you don't mind, may I ask why?"

"Because in the olden times, when fairies and humans lived together on the surface, humans were too busy learning to farm crops and make fire," she smirked, "but enough of fairy history - I need to ask you to keep your mouth shut about everything that will be said after this; I don't trust anybody in this place apart from Artemis, who seems to place some level of trust in you." Ana thought for a moment.

"Well, I can guarantee that from my side - but, not to sound too much like a weirdo, if there is something that the gods want revealed, it will be out anyways - I don't think you believe in the them, but well, we too thought fairies were a myth."

"Well, my great grandfather was Cupid."

"Well, that explains how you entered the camp without permission," was all the daughter of Athena said.

"Listen - there's been a major heist at one of our secure facilities at Lagrange," Holly began, taking a deep breath. "And the stolen object is a very, very dangerous and pretty advanced piece of technology." At the demigod girl's expression, she sighed. "I know this sounds like one of your mud movies, Level Impossible?"

"Mission Impossible," he corrects. Ana pinches her lips, trying not to laugh - as if him knowing general knowledge is cause for laughter.

"Yeah, like that one. We need to get it back. The icing on the cake is that Mud Boy here designed it."

"And I assume that fairies are way more advanced than humans."

"Well, if you call using nuclear-powered blasters as advanced, then I guess, yeah." Ana considered this for a moment.

"... You must be putting a lot of faith in me."

Ana

_**History isn't a boring subject - as long as gods and fairies as involved.** _

She was listening intently to Holly talk, cataloguing every new sliver of information and making sure she remembered it forever.

Holly put forward a slew of blueprints, Artemis and her bending forward to peer closely. "These are the plans for the storage chamber - there are two exits, for safety reasons. However, the locking mechanisms are similar to Spiro's vault-" here, she shot a look at Artemis, who nodded.

"Jon Spiro? That guy with the Mob connections?" Holly nodded. Ana wanted to ask more but quelled her curiosity with the thought that this too, that she was receiving, was far more than she could ask for.

"Fun part about the thief - he's not fairy." At that, Artemis paled. "But he doesn't seem human either."

"And what is the supporting claim for that statement?" Artemis countered.

"Well, there was a note left in Gnommish with very fairy-like swears and a liberal use of the word D'Arvit." Artemis sighed, rubbing his temple.

"And what is the supporting claim for the previous statement."

"He's five feet, five inches, lean - no pictures of his face, because the heist happened at midnight. All we got for evidence apart from this is a voice sample in the form of a laugh and that note. He sounds 16." The sound of campers running outside brought the introspecting group back to reality.

"Well, it's dinner now - about time too. Coming?" She turned to the two, but the rapid conversation in a language she assumed is the Gnommish they've been on about is a clear indicator for her to buzz off. So she did. _For all I know, Miss Short can conjure food with her magic._

Dinner passed in mulling over all this newfound knowledge, and she's trying to supply answers to most of her questions, but the fact that they are a different race altogether, with different powers and abilities put a massive question mark after every answer.

As usual, they gathered around the campfire, and the Apollo cabin was morose and down, so Hebe kids decided to lead the sing-along, and as a result the entire camp was trying to sing Miss Jackson to a dull red fire. As far as she knew, dull red signified anger and resentment. _Well, what a sentiment to afflict the entire camp._ She wants Artemis to attend this, but safety above fun has always been her motto, and Kayla looked like she could poison a certain someone.

"Well, I think it's clear who the quest's heroes are," Mr D announced, the Hebe cabin rudely shut down by shushing Hermes kids - Connor and Travis were at the edge of their seats, drachmas rapidly making their way towards them.

"The quest will be led by a child of Athena and the fairy," Chiron says, and eyes look around the bunch of blondes. Annabeth looked like she might volunteer out of sheer habit, but she turned to look at Ana and nodded, who in turn turned to Malcolm, who has always wanted to go on a quest, but shook his head.

"You're the only one they trust," he states. Besides, she always wanted to lead a quest, and one with a fairy seemed too good to pass on.

"I'm in," she stood up, campers applauding.

"Anastasia Cromwell, daughter of Athena." She nodded, taking her seat. Chiron looked around, and at the questioning glance, Nico shrugged. "Still at the Big House, I guess," he replied.

"Artemis Fowl II, legacy of Thanatos." No one applauded, but glares and whispers did go around, quickly hushed by Mr. D, who so clearly wanted this over.

"Who else wishes to volunteer?" Surprisingly, very few hands went up. _Not a surprise, actually -_ she tells herself - _they see Artemis as a killer._

"I'm up for this." It's Adam Schmidt, and Connor and Travis high-fived each other, suggestively wiggling their eyebrows at Aikaterine, who sighed, checking her pockets.

"Adam Schmidt, son of Hermes, you accept this quest?" For the first time, she saw a serious expression on his face, and he nodded. The campers clapped and whooped, Adam taking a bow, grin on his face. Once the noise died down, a voice interrupted the silence.

"I volunteer."

It was Nico, expression hard and set, and he's addressing Chiron directly. "Someone needs to go talk to my father and his daemon." A silent understanding passed between centaur and demigod and Nico nodded.

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, you accept this quest?"

"Yes." The campers all turned to look at him, some with admiration, some with confusion.

"Well then," Chiron sighed, "we have our heroes. You leave tomorrow. Campers, disperse." Ana headed to the Big House, stopping outside the rec room doors at the loud voices arguing inside.

"Artemis, we have to leave." Holly's voice was hard and unyielding. "We're on the edge of a civil war - Senator Gleeson's creating an anti-human atmosphere with the Council, and after that near fatal attack on a group of Haven U students in Tokyo, it's going to back Fowl Seige days, maybe worse. They're all with him."

"I've brought myself here for a reason."

"Is an exploration of some hidden world more important? You realise the paranoia the threat of a civil war creates?"

"I've almost caused one, so yes - I am very well aware of that state of affairs." Nico took a look at her, and without paying any heed, stormed in, Ana following in an effort to stop him.

"Well, you have a quest to lead," he looked at Holly.

"I'm sorry, Ana," she turned to her, "but my world is on the brink of a civil war - I don't know if this children's camp understands that, but the repercussions will affect everyone on and under this planet."

"Well, this 'children's camp' has seen war twice," she began in an effort to reason, "and the previous one was as bad as any Armageddon your imagination can conjure - no, I'm not bragging," she responded at Holly's scoff, "so please, give us some gravity. We are children of the gods - most of us perish before thirty on some quest in some godforsaken alley at the hands of some monster. The ones who live through war are rarely ever normal again - they try to live normal lives, but I don't think chronic PTSD and Munchausen syndrome constitutes as normal. As for your world, I have a feeling the quest and your civil war are intertwined."

Ana softened her expression, trying not to sound too offensive.

"Look, since you haven't accepted the quest, you can always walk out - no one's stopping you. We'll find someone else right now - a child of Hecate and some other Ares kid can replace you two. Just think it over." _I've left everything in the hands of the Fates now._

Two hours later, she's almost asleep, when the window pane rattled. _It's never hot enough for a heat haze._ She opened the window, flapping her hands at the haze, when the fairy materialised out of air - _**literally**_ \- Ana almost tumbling off the bed.

"Athena Parthenos," one of her brothers muttered, soldering rod aloft in one hand, staring at the floating fairy with shock.

"Whatever this quest is," Holly began, "I'm in."

"Two hours back, you almost fought me on that."

"Two hours is enough to change things."

"What things?"

"None of your business, Mud Girl. Now go back to sleep."

"We meet in front of the Big House."

"That building we were in?" Ana nodded. "Fine - tell Fowl and others to be there on time."

The following morning, Ana had barely digested her breakfast and last night's events, and as Argus loaded their backpacks in the van under the noon sun, she hoped the Fates weren't old ladies with zero chill, and Rachel accompanying them wasn't helping matters.

She was pretty sure they had a sick sense of humour when Argus stopped by a farm, Rachel pointing at the goat.

"Well, Zeus sends his gifts," the redhead said, helping them unload their backpacks from the back. "Amaltheia will help you find the way - at least, part of it."

"Zeus' nurse goat?" Artemis interjected, looking incredulous.

"She has a godly GPS for danger, Fowl - you can trust her." With that and a parting hug, Rachel left, leaving the five of them by the side of a field and the highway with a goat and a pretty bad feeling about the quest.

"This is a joke, isn't it?" Holly questioned, Nico shaking his head with a disgusted frown as he checked the underside of the skittish farm animal. "Nope - this is Zeus' scared and sacred goat, complete with the 7up and chocolate milk dispensing udders." At Holly's bewildered expression, he motioned to the animal. "See for yourself."

"Free soda," Adam pointed out as Holly stared down the son of Hades.

The fairy bent down, peering at the animal's underside before turning to look at all of them with a stare Ana could best describe as speechless.

The goat began to anxiously trot forward (if animals could trot anxiously), the group following it, and Ana was pretty sure the Fates were smiling serenely upon them as they knitted their socks of death.

"Well, in goats we trust."


	10. Grand Theft Auto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 10th chapter on 10/10 - here you go, everybody!

**_ Holly _ **

_**What an extraordinary turn of events.** _

Holly had expected to take Artemis by the scruff of his orange T-Shirt (which, frankly, didn't look as hideous as he claimed) and drag him all the way to Haven - but then, Foaly stepped in.

"Hey Short? Where are you?" the centaur's voice buzzed over the static induced by the place. At least, she _suspected_ it was because of the place and not because Foaly's tech had finally begun to fail.

"At the coordinates you sent me. Some sort of weird camp here - most of the kids here claim to be kids of the Greek Gods."

"Last time i checked, the records said it was a strawberry field - that's what it's registered as on all Mud People records."

"Well, I don't know how a Greek summer-cum-military training camp looks like a strawberry field to anybody. Don't their satellites pick up such things?" She could hear the centaur sipping on carrot juice.

"... Only if they can see it, right?"

"Foaly, please be more specific."

"I assume the camp is shielded from all satellites with some sort of cloaking device."

"This is place is at least a hundred hectares - no cloaking device could cover a place that big. You can't just create a cam foil that large and throw it over a place and still be able to fly in and see a clear sky and everything."

"No you can't - but then, you say they are children of the gods, right?"

"They say so."

"Well, if they are, maybe some godly help went into hiding that place." She could hear the excitement and curiosity in his voice, and Holly was pretty that Foaly had gotten sidetracked.

"Why are you so concerned about its specifics?"

"Because we received a PSA at the LEPRecon here fifteen minutes ago, and our thief claims to be making that spot his next target."

"For what - a heist?"

"No - an attack. I'm sending you the video clip." A clip popped up on her screen, Holly tapping her helmet to play it. The screen was shrouded in darkness, with only the speaker's silhouette visible.

"Hello, People of Haven," the voice began - a baritone that could belong to a young man. "Ever wondered about where you all came from? Where the other half of your magic lives on?" Holly was getting unnerved by the low, clear voice with its creepy confidence.

"Thought you were the only ones - the only "special people" in this world? Well, think again. I get your hatred for the Mud People, with their xenophobic attitudes and their lust and greed. But it all ends now - you and your godly brethren will reclaim the Earth at the Summer Solstice. Long Island Sound, New York. No more hiding." The screen black out, and Foaly's face reappeared on her visor - he looked as grim as she imagined herself to look.

"Well, wasn't that dramatic," she sighed. "We have another Opal on our hands, don't we?"

"Unfortunately, that's what it looks like," his voice filtered in. "Short, you need to figure out what the deal is with these guys and get back to me ASAP."

"All right." _Maybe it is time to accept that quest after all_.

Twelve hours later, she wasn't so sure, after being told that a goat which dispensed 7Up and chocolate milk would be their guide for the way.

* * *

**_ Artemis _ **

_**He hadn't walked this much since that trek in Colorado Springs.** _

Courtesy of Juliet and his lovely mother, the family had agreed to take a trip to Colorado Springs for an 'interaction with nature' and get away from the mundanity of everyday life, though Artemis could hardly afford to complain that his everyday life was mundane.

However, the trip had resulted in blistered feet for the oldest Fowl child and a surprisingly peppy couple, who were still up for a game of tennis (to which Artemis declined instantaneously, citing physical injuries - _blisters count_ ).

"Are we there yet?" Adam Schmidt asked Ana - Artemis echoed the sentiment.

"Well, the goat hasn't stopped anywhere, so no," she replied, keeping a close watch on the animal. Nico stayed at the front of the group with Ana, eyes quickly shifting to observe anything that remotely seemed off.

"You do know we look like five school kids who ran away from home, right?" Adam reminded the group. They did look like an odd bunch - four teenagers, one of them dressed in all black and a metre tall female whose height would place her in the child category but her physical features clearly classified her as someone much older.

With the help of some of Foaly's tech and clever costumery (courtesy Piper McLean), they had managed to make Holly look like a human thirteen year old female. While Artemis wasn't so worried about her cover being blown, five children with backpacks and a shifty behaviour was going to raise eyebrows anywhere.

"Well, the goat stops here."

In front of them was a run-down barn, looking as stereotypical as it could get for an American farm.

"Well, it _**is**_ a farm animal," Adam commented, heading towards the door. Nico peered at the heavy iron lock, looking around for any onlookers, while Ana sprinted towards the nearby house.

"No one's in," she replied, running back to them. "They're out on vacation - will be back by tonight though, so we've got to hurry."

"Can't be opened without breaking this thing," Nico pointed at the lock, much to Adam's surprise. The son of Hermes smirked at the group, then pulled a piece of wire from his pocket.

"Nothing's ever locked." After examining the lock closely and putting a hand on it, Adam's fingers were a blur, deftly and rapidly folding the wire until it resembled a key. Unimpressed, Artemis took the wire-key and inserted in the lock, the iron lock dropping open at his feet.

"Thanks a ton, Jack Wilder," Ana muttered, heading in. Holly looked at him, smiling ruefully.

"I'll keep watch," she said, putting down her backpack beside the door and taking a seat by it. Artemis proceeded with the rest of the group, the goat nowhere in sight now.

"Where did it go?" Ana mumbled beside him before disappearing behind the bundles of hay. He proceeded to follow Adam and Nico, until the latter stopped, exasperation etched on his face.

"Really? You again?" Standing in front of them was a young blonde man in overalls, smiling at the three of them.

"Hello, son of Hades - keeping well nowadays, aren't we?"

"Well, it surely isn't because of your barley cakes or your special formula."

"I know."

"Don't tell me your chariot needs repairing again."

A frown crossed the man's features. "Those snakes are doing well, thank you very much."

"What is it then?" The son of Hades questioned, a hand on the hilt of his sword. "You were better off as a corn plant," the blonde man muttered before turning to smile again at Adam and him.

"Well, won't you introduce me?"

"You can do the job better yourself," Nico muttered, choosing to look for the goat behind the piles of hay.

"Oh well," the man sighed. "I'm Triptolemus, but you can call me Trip. As you can see, your angry little Italian friend has some previous history with me - nothing too bad, I assure you."

"You turned me into a corn plant!" Nico yelled from the other end, and as interesting as every word sounded, Artemis had begun to question the legitimacy of the world he was living in.

"He was better off that way," Triptolemus waived his hands in a dismissive manner. "Anyhow, I think you people need some help."

"Well, being on a quest with absolutely no idea where to go does merit help," Artemis spoke, Triptolemus now diverting his entire attention to him.

"Yeah - you young heroes, with your heroic quests, off to save the world."

"Sir, it would be better for all of us if you would quickly disclose the next location and the instructions on what do once we reach it."

"You're a respectful one," Trip smiled. "How did you know I'm a god?" While Artemis was unaware of the fact, it seemed infinitely safer to lie to him, if the gods were as temperamental as the classics made them out to be.

"Well, you do have an aura about you, sir."

"The god of farming should - after all, you don't get this golden glow without a cereal rich diet!"

"Certainly," Artemis replied with an artificial smile - thankfully, the god seemed to buy it.

"Well, my friend Diomedes here holds all the answers." As if on cue, there was a crash, and, emerging from behind three broken crates and two hay-covered demigods was the hero (and now presumably god) Diomedes.

"Well, your two friends here are quite the fighters," the man commented, striding over to Trip while brushing imaginary debris off his combat soldier outfit. "As Trip informed you, I am Diomedes, hero of the Trojan War, King of Argos."

"Were you made immortal because you were a great hero?" Ana asked, clearing hay from her hair. It was the first time Artemis got a proper look at her sword - a long piece of bronze, unlike the black metal he had used. The sword was obviously frequently used, but not in real combat, for while the hilt looked worn, the metal was shiny and free of any scratches or dents, except for that one indent in the middle, _which was probably caused by the Nemean lion._

"No, actually - I was made immortal because of the Diomedian mares."

"The Diomedian mares - didn't they belong to the giant?" she questioned.

"Why, young lady, indeed they did," he squinted at her suspiciously. "Funny you should know that."

"Well, you and the mares and a lot of other things are the stuff of legends."

"Hmm," the man considered that for a moment. "Anyways, since those blasted horses were immortalised by Hera, and Ajax and Achilles wanted to immortalise me -"

"Immortalise you?"

"Well, we were as you call comrades in modern parlance, bros-"

"Wait, we still call 'comrades' comrades in modern parlance, but I get it."

"You were 'bros' with Achilles and Ajax," Artemis repeated, Nico looking just as dumbfounded.

"Yes, bros," Diomedes looked at them, evidently not perturbed in the least by this. "Well, my bros and I wanted to be together for time immemorial - you don't get friendships like that now," the man looked wistfully in the distance as Trip patted his shoulder. "As a solid warrior unit and as friends, and the gods considered my military prowess and leadership skills to be worthy of the honor."

"So now, I'm in charge of the mares," Diomedes ended. "Trouble is, those four have gone missing."

"You cannot misplace four flesh-eating horses just like that," Artemis wondered aloud, making the immortal warrior zero in on him.

"Yes you can," he snapped, "especially if you keep them in a mortal barn without Celestial bronze cages. Do you know much those blasted creatures cost me in shipping? Amazonians charging for them through the roof! I'd left them just for three hours - three mortal hours, mind you and those four decide they'll have a better time sightseeing this barely-populated stretch of land."

"So… you want us to bring back the mares?" Adam suggested.

"Precisely! Someone understands," he shot Adam a grin. "Well, since there are five of you and four mares, it shouldn't be a problem, what with those mortal chariots at your disposal."

"Wait," Artemis interjected. "There are only four of us here."

"Well, young man," Diomedes smirked, "you thought I wouldn't notice the scout? I noticed that lovely little lady sitting outside, evidently bored to death by waiting for the four of you." Artemis exchanged a glance with Ana and Nico, all previous plans of fooling the man flung violently of the metaphorical barn window.

"We don't have cars," Nico pointed out.

"You don't," Trip butted in, "but these mortals do."

"Great," Nico muttered. "Now we're going to commit grand theft auto."


	11. Record Scratch, Freeze Frame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who decided to update? Me! *does George Michael slide*

**_ Ana _ **

**_Her current thoughts were the record scratch, freeze frame meme._ **

The daughter of Athena was currently heading towards the garage with wondering why a farm would possess two Priuses and how they were supposed hotwire them -  _ don’t they have more tractors than people? Shit, that’s stereotyping  _  - but she decided not to question their good luck -  _ or bad, depending on who you asked _ .

“For the gods’ sake, I had just gotten my driver’s licence, and that too not without incident,” she muttered, tossing the other key to Adam, who had a couple more steel wires in his hands. “What for?”

“I’m going to use these -”

“As a bridge for the battery wires?” Her tone clearly conveyed that yes, this sounded dangerous on five levels more than she would be comfortable with, but hey, it was this or those mares.  _ And I am NOT going to die at the jaws of four carnivorous horses. _

“Okay,” Adam looked around, surveying the group, “I suggest Fowl and his magical companion -”

“Holly,” Short added.

“Holly, go with you. I’m taking di Angelo and the goat.” Holly’s face scrunched up in thought, after which she shook her head with a frown.

“As far as I have seen, Nico - can I call you Nico?” The son of Hades nodded, tapping his foot impatiently. “Is the one with the most military skills, along with Ana and me. So Adam pilots one car, Artemis takes care of the goat in the backseat and Ana pilots the other while I and Nico prepare to take the mares captive.”

“Why am I entrusted with the goat?” By his face, the Fowl heir looked extremely reluctant to take the task, redoing the zipper of his black jacket (which looked pretty good - she wanted one now, gods damn it). 

“Because your coordination is shit, the animal is skittish and I’m certain the mares will either run away or pseudo-die, thanks to your new talents.”

A silence. “Touche.” They piled into their respective cars, and Adam cut and rewired the required wires to each other as fast as he could, fingers a blur. “Okay guys move move move!” he yelled, revving the engine of his car before taking the highway, which is when Ana realised that they had no idea where to look for those mares.

_ This is going to be a very long day. _

* * *

 

**_Artemis_ **

**_He could relate to that goat._ **

The animal was just as jumpy and scared as him (although he wasn’t openly showing it), and Artemis internally dreaded the possibility that the goat may end up drenching him in soda or milk out of fear.

The son of Hermes was driving across the highway at a steady speed when a bazooka shot in the form of a horse hit their car, sending them tumbling off the road. “Hold on!” 

_ No shit, Sherlock _ , Artemis thought angrily to himself as the goat’s legs squashed against his, the son of Hermes trying to restart the car. Much to their surprise, it did. “Great; now we gotta corner this Mustang.”

“It’s an Ionian mare,” he corrected Adam, who simply grinned as he put his foot on the accelerator, turning back and pointing to the safety belts.

“Hold onto your butts.”  _ And relevant advice indeed _ , as the dented car rocketed across the highway, the mare following suit. Adam swerved towards a cornfield, spotting another one of the flesh-eating horses and barely missing the animal as he turned around it. 

Enraged, the animal charged towards them, and as suicidal as the plan was in its execution, this seemed like the best option to him as well. He pointed towards another one of the mares being followed by the other Prius. “Where’s the fourth?” 

“There!” The four had made a group, barreling towards their car. “Barricade!” He heard Holly yell, their car speeding up to meet theirs. He had calculated the combined force of the four animals, and the odds weren’t in their favour. “Let me out of the car.” 

Adam looked at him, dumbfounded as he turned the car to perpendicularly block the road. “Are you insane, Fowl?” 

“They’re immortal, so my powers will only suppress the animals, not kill them.” 

“But the Nemean lion?” 

“I could hear the animal breathe - besides, the lion leaves its pelt when it dies.” A look of realisation dawned on the son of Hermes, and he nodded.

“It is still suicide.” 

“We won’t survive the impact.” Artemis stepped out of the vehicle, vaguely noting that a cut on his face was bleeding -  _ all the better to attract the mares with _ . The animals ran towards him, and he extended his palms towards them, praying to all the forces in the world that they wouldn’t be bitten off first. 

“DUCK!” He could hear Anastasia yell, and he lunged, hearing the teeth of the animal slice the air where his head earlier was; a few moments later, the mares fell back, looking evidently confused and disoriented but very much alive. 

Ana was the first out of the car, surveying the horses as Nico bound them with chains he had picked up from somewhere. “I’ll say this for everyone present,” she spoke, getting off her knees, “what, the hell, was  **_that_ ** ?”

“Why are they not dead, Fowl?” di Angelo looked at him critically, and he could feel the son of Hades’ ire rise. 

“Remember how the body of the Nemean lion was still there?” Adam spoke up, looking excited. “Even when Percy killed the animal, what happened when it died?”

“Only its pelt remained,” Ana replied, inching towards him - Artemis felt like an interrogation was to follow this. “Else the animal was gone, to be reformed.”

“Which means the lion never died.”

“Or,” Nico piped in, “it’s soul has been spirited away. Thanatos is the reaper of souls - Will’s soul has been taken away.”

“... I need to talk to Annabeth. Anyone got a drachma?” She rummaged around her bag, finally emerging with a prism clasped in her hand and a bottle tucked under her elbow. Artemis took out one of the coins from his pocket and passed it to her - she looked at him for a moment with suspicion, then proceeded to hand the prism to Nico.

“Is that cleaning fluid?” Holly pointed at the spray bottle, to which Ana shook her head, spraying the clear liquid as di Angelo held the prism in front of it, tossing the coin in it. To Holly and his utter incredulity and the rest’s nonchalance, the air shimmered to form a misty screen, much like the one his father spoke to him through.

“O Iris, goddess of messengers, show me Annabeth Chase.” The air shimmered again, showing Miss Chase lying in a bunk bed, Percy Jackson’s head across her chest. The intimacy of the scene made him cringe a little inwardly, and Artemis took two steps back from the screen.

“Ana?” The blonde sat up, hair a disarray.

“You were probably doing who I thought you were doing, but anyhow - where’s the Nemean lion?” 

“Why are you guys standing beside two trashed Priuses?” Her eyes widened as she looked from the screen towards the rest of the scenery. “Are those Geryon’s horses?”

“What about Geryon’s horses?” Jackson sat up, eyes wide open.

“Where’s the lion?” Ana pushed further. 

“Gone - he hadn’t died, Ana. Just out for a long time. Our guess is that Artemis’ powers knocked him out real good - Clarisse said the lion woke up and struggled against the chains before they let him out at the camp borders.”

“Clarisse gave up killing the Nemean lion?” Adam looked surprised.

“Killing it in a non-combat situation would’ve only made Miss Peacock madder than before,” Percy chimed in.

“Fair enough - we’re taking the animals back to Triptolemus and Diomedes.”

“That corn dude,” Percy muttered.

“Barley,” Nico corrected. “We’ll get going now - will send another IM when we reach the next stop.”

“Take care.” 

“Bye,” with that, Ana shook her hand across the screen, the images disappearing. Since no one was keen on using the horses as transport -  _ with good reason, those things may go berserk any moment _ \- they each walked with a leash in their hands, Adam taking charge of the goat now.

“Admirable effort.” Diomedes looked at them with an impressed smile, taking the leashes as he and Nico pushed the horses into the new cages, their colour more silver than bronze. 

“This isn’t celestial bronze,” he spoke, Triptolemus smiling at him. 

“No - a mixture of adamantium and Celestial bronze.” 

“Cost a fortune,” Diomedes grumbled. 

“What next?” Ana asked. The farming god turned to her, pressing a small diary into her hands, it’s cover marked with a silver 1. 

“Your instructions, or rather, the first of many.”

* * *

 

**_Ana_ **

**_Well, no more horses_ ** .

Or at least Ana hoped, because she couldn’t take a moment more of those carnivorous equines. They stepped out of the barn, and she motioned the group to sit down on the grass, her flipping through the diary’s pages.  _ Most are blank _ .

Except for 48.

_ Pandemonium, in the Level B Ithaca. _

_ 11:00 meeting with Beauty and The Beat. _

She read the words aloud, Nico’s chewing the only interruption in the silence around them. 

“Pandemonium in the level B? Sounds like a game,” Adam chipped in. She, personally, had no idea what Level B meant.

“Not a game,” Artemis sighed, pulling out a granola bar from his backpack - she peered in when he was looking at the diary, and he turned back to frown at her.

“What? Just checking if you’ve packed sensibly.” And he had. Protein and granola bars, along with a proper first-aid kit, a pack of ambrosia squares and a bottle of nectar (which she’s pretty sure he nicked from the supplies). The frown hadn’t budged. “So, Level B?” 

“A nightclub in Ithaca.” 

“And you know why?” Holly cocked an eyebrow, smiling mischievously.

“Let me guess,” she piped in, “Because it’s near Cornell University?”

“Because quite a few infamous frat gatherings of one of the most powerful Ivy students once took place there.”

“Shouldn’t they happen on Mount Auburn Street in Boston? And this would be recent history.”

“The Porcellian doesn’t wield as much power as it likes to think - and I’m not talking post the inception of this bar.”

“What of the Phoenix and the Owl? And when are you talking about?”

“Nada. Cornell’s Quill and Dagger has has quite the few backseat drivers across all fields. When this place was owned by the Cornells.”

“What is happening here?” Holly muttered to Adam, who simply shrugged - she returned her attention to Artemis, who had a glint in his eye.

“This was a Greek Lodge.

She leaned towards him, eyes narrowed. “What proof do you have?” 

“The Fowls paid for it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Read and comment!


End file.
